Method of making shoe inner soles



April 6, 1943. AYERS 2,315,494

METHOD OF MAKING SHOE INNERSOLES Original Filed July 3, 1941 Patented Apr. 6, 1943 METHOD OF MAKING SHOE INNER SOLES Fred L. Ayers, water-town, mans, assumiof one-half to Newton Elkin, Philadelphia, Pa.

Original application July 3, 1941, Serial No. 400,919. Divided and this application June 17, 1942, Serial No. 447,422

6(Haims.

This invention relates to shoe construction and.

more particularly to that portion particularly designed for the attachment of the outer-sole.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 400,919 flied July 3, 1941, and relates to subject-matter also disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 428,308 filed January 26, 1942.

One object of the invention is to produce an innersole having an inseam rib, the'innersole being made of inexpensive material andin a manner which permits rapid fabrication with the minimumof care and skill, and yet which is of excellent quality.

A further object is to provide a construction of innersole and related parts of sufficient strength to permit the attachment of an outersole entirely by outersole stitches, if this is desired, but without the necessity of employing a heavy welt or the clumsy welt inseam stitching heretofore employed, or a channeled innersole.

A further object is to avoid the necessity of using any filler between the inner and outersoles, and to avoid the formation of gutters or other irregularities on the inner face of the shoe bottom, or constructions which permit the formation of such gutters or irregularities during wear of the shoe.

For a more complete understanding of this in vention, together with further objects and advantageous constructions, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of an innersole blank suitable for use in practicing the invention.

,Figure 2 is a perspective view of a piece of strip material which may also be employed.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the strip material shown in Figure 2 folded longitudinally for application to the sole blank of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the strip of Figure 3 applied to the blank of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing a reinforcing layer applied to the face of the blank and to the upper layer of the marginal strip.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing the margin of the reinforcing layer and the part of the marginal strip to which this layer is secured turned back to receive inseam securing means.

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are fragmentary sectional views through shoes of diiferent constructions, but all embodying the innersole of Figure '7.

Figures 11 and 12 are views similar to Figures 8, 9 and 10, but omitting the outersole and showing other constructions of welt or looking strip which may be employed.

Referring to the drawing, at I is shown a flat innersole blank which may be of thin sheet material as it is not required to be channeled in the manufacture of the innersole. Next a thin strip 5 of material such as light cloth, paper or the like,

as at 2, with or without one edge being slit inwardly as at 3 and folded longitudinally as at 4 in Figure 3, is secured to one face of the innersole blank I about the margin and to the extent 10 desired for inseam stitching rib. Ordinarily this will be entirely around the forepart of the shoe as shown in Figure 4, although it may extend into the shank or even around the heel, depending upon the particular method desired for lasting the shank and heel portions of the shoe.

The fold line 4 is positioned facing inwardly and the free edge portion (slit or unslit) is preferably disposed away from the innersole blank. The slits are for the purpose of permitting ready conformability of the folded strip to the contour of the sole edge. Where made of bias tape, a stretchable material, or the like, no slitting may be found necessary for this purpose. This strip is preferably a quite thin material, its chief function being to define a marginal portion of the blank outwardly of the line of fold to which areinforcing sheet material, preferably of fabric, such as canvas, or the like, does not adhere. Such reinforcing layer is shown at ill in Figure 6 and is preferably cemented flat against the face of the blank I to which the strip 2 has been attached and also to the top layer or leaf of this folded strip, from the fold-line outwardly. Thus this fabric layer I0 is applied to the same face of the strip 2 as is the blank I, but on the opposite side of the line of fold. By applying the reinforcing fabric layer ill while the strip 2 is in folded condition, it may be applied quickly and easily and does not require any treatment to conform the fabric layer to the adjacent face of the free leaf of the folded strip 2. A cement such as a rubber cement will ordinarily be found satisfactory for securing the folded strip or tape 2 and the fabric layer in in position. The folded strip or tape 2 is shown of exaggerated relative thickness in order to be seen readily in the drawing, but in practice the reinforcing fabric layer shows little or no bend where it bridges over the folded edge of the strip or tape 2 when applied.

Next, the free marginal portion ll of the fabric layer I0 is bent upwardly and inwardly, as shown in Figure 7, carrying the free leaf or portion of the folded strip or tape 2 in contact therewith, into the inwardly inclined position shown in Figure 7. Ordinarily the margin l I of the fabric layer l0 may be puckered together sufficiently to While an innersole thusconstructed can be employed to advantage as a welt innersole, it is cured thereto. Also secured by the same inseam stitching I is a welt strip or locking strip l9, shown in this Figure 8 as slit inwardly from. its lower face, which will be the flesh side where leather is employed, as shown at 2B. This slit is positioned somewhat outwardly of the inner edge of the welt strip I9 and forms a pocket to receive the outer portions of the inseam stitches Id. The marginal portion l I of the fabric lay-er I0 (to gether with the free leaf of the folded tape 2) is then preferably bent down about the inner faces of the stitching l8 and is cemented to the outer face of the reinforcing fabric layer It) inwardly of the inseam stitches l8. Preferably this is done with a flexible cement such as a latex or rubber cement or the like. The edges of the upper materials I6 and I7, trimmed to substantially the level of the :bottom of the welt strip l8, and the sides of the slit 20 have applied thereto a permanent cement, such as pyroxylin cement, in a manner to permeate the entire inseam structure. Without this cement permeation, the securement of the welt strip l9 would be quite insecure, since the amount of between substance spanned by the inseam stitching is quite limited. The welt strip l9 can be readily pulled away from the lasted shoe without the cement; the function of the inseam stitching I8, in so far as the securement of the welt strip I9 is concerned, being only temporarily to attach the welt strip i 9 in position while the permanent cement is being applied and while it is allowed to harden.

With this construction, including inseam stitching I8 and the permanent cement permeating the inseam structure, the final securement of the welt strip I9 is so secure that it isentirely feasible to secure an outersole 2| to the lasted shoe solely by outersole stitching 22 as shown in Figure 10. However, if desired, the outersole 2| may be cemented in position, or secured by both cement and outersole stitching. In Figure 3 it is shown as secured by cement applied in a band the full width of the welt strip IS, the inseam and as much as desired of the exposed face of the marginal portion ll of the reinforcing fabric sheet material it) (and the free leaf of the folded tape 2 adhered thereto).

In Figure 9 the outersole is shown as secured by the outersole stitching 22 and also by a. narrow band of cement of a width approximately that of the inseam portion of the shoe, usually excluding the outer portion of welt strip l9 and the rein-forcing layer ii of the innersole inwardly of its intumed margin ii.

While the placing of the inseam stitching i8 within a slit 20 in the flesh side of thewelt strip l9, where leather is employed for this strip, is highly desirable, since it provides a surface of a porous texture well adapted to receive and be permeated by the permanent cement, this welt strip l9 may be secured by inseam stitching l8 lying in'a slit 25 cut in the grain face of the melt strip l9 as shown in Figure 11, or seated in a slit 26 cut inwardly from the outer edge of this welt strip it as shown in Figure 12. This latter con struction may be of particular value when it is desired to give the appearance of a very thin edgeshce, in which case the lower portion of the welt strip l9, substantially up to the slit 26, may be trimmed away as on the line a of Figure 12. This :will then expose the flesh portion of the leather for application of the permanent cement. It is not so convenient to do this with the construction shown in Figure 11 and more reliance would have to be placed on the permanent ce= ment applied to the inseam portion having good penetration such as suiilciently to seal the inseam stitching ,to the parts of the shoe through which it is passed.

It will be noted that due to the thinness of the reinforcing fabric layer iii, which may be of canvas, it may be folded back on itself, generally about the inseam stitching l8, without the production of any substantial ridges along the innersole, so that ordinarily no filler whatever is necessary to be used between the outersole and innersole; thus providing against the bunching and the formation of undesirable gutters in the inner face or foot-side of the innersole in the shoe due to the use of a. filler or innersole channeling. A slight amount of filler may be used, particularly at the toe portion, if the plaiting of the in-turned margin of the fabric layer it) at this portion becomes undesirably thick and it is not desired to slit or remove portions of this in turned margin to prevent or to reduce the effect of such bunchmg.

It will also be noted that in the completed shoe the line of fold of the reinforcing layer is positioned inwardly of the margin of the inner sole blank, and that the strip mamrial or tape 2 is secured at one portion of its width to the innersole blank I outwardly of the fold-line of the reinforcing layer, bridges over this fold-line, and throughout another portion of its width it is secured to the in-turned margin H of the fabric layer It and is in contact with the outersole, which latter also engages the welt strip, the trimmed margins of the upper materials, and the in-turned margin I I of the reinforcing fabric layer l0 inwardly of the From the foregoing description of certain embodiments of this invention, it should be evident to those skilled in mean; that various changes and modifications might be made without defiarting from the spirit or scope of this invenon. I

The invention having thus been described, what is hereby claimed to be new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of making a shoe innersole, which comprises longitudi ly folding a relatively thin tape to form two leaf-like portions folded against each other, with the fold-line constituting, in effect, a hinge between said two leaf-like portions, adhesively securing one leaf of said thin folded tape about the margin of at least the forepart of an innersole blank in pro-determined spaced relation to the edge of the innersole blank, with the fold-line spaced inwardly from the edge or the innersole blank, and with the outer edge of the adhesi-vely secured leaf of said folded tape nearer to the edge of said innersole blank than said fold-line, whereby the other leaf of said folded tape will be freely hinged about said fold-line in the plane of the bottom surface of said innersole blank, pressing -said hinged leaf outwardly and more or less flat over the other leaf, and cementing a layer of reinforcing mastrip material or tape 2.

terial against said innersole blank inwardly of the fold-line of said folded tape and against said freely-hinged leaf of the folded tape outwardly of the fold-line thereof while said freely-hinged leaf of the folded tape is folded towards and in more or less closed relation to the leaf of said folded tape which had previously been adhesively secured to a surface of said innersole blank.

2. The method of making a shoe innersole, which comprises longitudinally folding a relatively thin tape to form two leaf-like portions folded against each other, with the fold-line constituting, in effect, a hinge between said two leaf-like portions, adhesively securing one leaf of said thin folded tape about the margin of at least the forepart of an innersole blank in pro-determined spaced relation to the edge of the innersole blank, with the fold-line spaced inwardly from the edge of the innersole blank and with the outer edge of the adhesively secured leaf of said folded tape nearer to the edge of said innersole blank than said fold-line, whereby the other leaf of said folded tape will :be freely hinged about said fold-line in the plane of the bottom surface of said innersole blank, cementing a layer of reinforcing material against said innersole lblank inwardly of the fold-line of said folded tape and against said freely-hinged leaf of the folded tape outwardly of the fold-line thereof while said freely-hinged leaf of the folded tape is folded towards and in more or less closed relation to the leaf of said folded tape which had previously been adhesively secured to a surface of said innersole blank, and then turning inwardly, about said fold-line; acting as a hinge line, the marginal (portion of said layer of reinforcing material, and the hinged leaf of said folded tape to which said marginal portion is adhesively secured.

3. The steps in the method of making an unchannelled composite flexible innersole, which comprise providing a relatively thin tape having a generally non-sticky adhesive coating on one side thereof only, of the character which will not eftfectively adhere to an uncoated textile surface or fibrous surface but which will flrmly adhere to another similarly coated surface when pressed thereagainst, coating at least the marginal zone of the bottom surface of the forepart of an unchannelled innersole blank with a similar or complementary adhesive and allowing the same to set" to a similar generally non-sticky condition, folding said tape lengthwise with the uncoated surfaces thereof pressed against each other and with the coated surface thereof on the outside of said fold, thereby to form a hinge-like folded tape having two hinge-like leaves closed against each other with the adhesive coating on the outside surfaces of such leaves, applying the thus folded tape to the adhesively coated marginal. surface of said innersole blank around the edge of at least the forepart thereof, with the fold-line spaced inwardly a predetermined distance from the edge thereof and with the free edges of the leaves of said folded tape nearer to the edge of the innersole blank than said fold-line, and pressing the thus folded tape firmly against the adhesively coated surface of the innersole blank around the edge of the forepart thereof to form a firm adhesive bond between one leaf of said tape and the surface of the innersole blank while leaving the other leaf of said folded tape in free hinged relation thereto.

4. The method of making a shoe innersole,

which comprises adhesively securing about the margin of at least the forepart of an innersole blank, on one face thereof, a longitudinally folded strip, folded to form two leaf-like portions hingedly related to each other along the line of fold, with the line of fold intermediate the two leaves thereof spaced inwardly from the edge of the innersole blank and with the outer edges of the leaves of said folded strip nearer to the edge of the innersole than said fold-line and with one leaf of said folded strip adhered to said innersole blank and with the other leaf of said folded strip in unadhered hinged relation to said innersole blank, and inclined outwardly cementing a layer of reinforcing material against said innersole blank inwardly of said folded strip and against the outer unadhered hinged leaf of said.

folded strip, by simultaneously pressing said layer of reinforcing material into adhesive contact with the uncovered portion of the forepart of the innersole blank inwardly of the fold-line of said folded strip and into adhesive contact with the unadhered hinged leaf of said folded strip, while such hinged leaf is simultaneously pressed flat into its fully folded relation to the other leaf of said folded strip, which latter had previously been adhesively secured to the margin of the innersole, and then turning inwardly, about said fold-line, the margin of said layer of reinforcing material and the hinged leaf of said folded strip adhesively secured to said layer of reinforcing material.

5. The method of making an unchannelled shoe innersole, which comprises longitudinally folding a relatively thin tape, securing said folded tape about the margin of at least the forepart of an unchannelled innersole blank in pre-determined spaced relation to the edge of the innersole blank, while said folded tape is pressed flatly against said marginal portion of said innersole blank, with a width-wise portion of said folded tape free and unsecured at its outer edge so as to be capable of being folded upwardly to form an upstanding or raised inseam-anchorage lip or flange based along a hinge-line spaced a pre-determined distance inwardly from the edge of the innersole, securing a layer of reinforcing material, in a generally flat condition, against said innersole blank and against said hinged portion of the folded tape, while the latter is laid flat against the marginal portion of the innersole blank, and raising said hinged portion of the tape and the marginal portion of said reinforcing layer to a generally upstanding position about the hinge-line thereof to form a composite inseamanchorage flange having a margin-defining shoulder against which the upper may be lasted.

6. The method of making a shoe innersole which comprises adhesively coating a surface of the innersole blank at least in the forepart thereof, longitudinally folding an adhesively coated tape with its adhesively coated surface facing outwardly, applying the folded tape to the marginal zone of the innersole blank around at least the forepart of said blank with the fold-line facing inwardly of the edge of said innersole blank, by beginning with one of the rearmost points of such marginal zone and gradually extending the folded tape around the marginal zone to the other rearmost point of such marginal zone, and pressing said folded tape into adhesive union with the innersole blank as it is so applied around said marginal zone thereof.

FRED L. AYERS. 

